The present invention relates to vehicle seats in general. More specifically to electrically actuated replacement reclining seats to permit sleeping in a van.
Previously, many types of vehicle seats have been used in endeavoring to provide comfort to the passenger. In most cases the seats recline, but not sufficiently to lie completely flat, therefore not allowing comfortable sleeping arrangements.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that possess the novelty of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
Higgs et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,273 teaches a vehicle seat frame that is formed of a molded body or a foam, such as polyurethane reinforced internally by a fabricated sheet metal skeleton. The frame is covered by a pad to complete the seat with the back and pan portions structurally independent. Seat belt anchorage""s are mounted on the seat back frame rather than to the vehicle body and the arrangement is such that the restraint loads to not pass thorough the seat pan portion of the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,482 issued to Itsuki is for a reclining device used for an automobile seat that has a back frame and a cushion frame with the back frame journaled relative to the cushion frame. The device has a cam in the back and in the cushion frame with a second cam engaged by the first cam with a hook for retaining the cam to incline the seat. The seat is therefore adjustable in accordance with the amount of displacement of the cam.
Granzow in U.S. Pat. 5,123,706 discloses an automobile seat that includes a seat frame and a backrest frame each having a pair of oppose side U-shaped braces which face away from the seating surfaces. The side braces of the side frame and back frame portions define open channel like areas for accommodating adjusting units of the seat.
Kogai in U.S. Pat. 5,605,376 teaches a backrest attaching frame for rearward inclination and at the same time is spring loaded toward the attaching frame. A push-up member is vertically attached to a horizontal portion of the backrest attaching member. A seat receiving plate is pivotally supported at the front side of the attaching frame for upward inclination and the seat receiving plate is engaged with an upper end of the push-up member. With this arrangement the backrest side of the seat is upwardly inclined by causing the backrest to be inclined rearwardly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,283 issued to Yoshida et al. is for a tilt-up automobile seat that has a mechanism positioned under the seat cushion. The seat cushion and a seat back are continuously positioned in a flat plane at a predetermined angle and the whole seat is tilted upwards around a front side of the seat cushion as a fulcrum. The mechanism is covered by a combination of an upper cover and a lower cover resulting in the tilt-up mechanism not being seen from the outside. The upper and lower covers may include flange parts overlapped to each other having a predetermined height.
In the past passenger vans, or so called mini-vans, have been popular in this country as they offer increased passenger seating and more useable area inside than conventional passenger automobiles. In most cases the bench seats are removable for hauling large objects and permit aftermarket modification to convert the van into a mini-camper. While these conversions are successful they are usually permanent and therefore complete flexibility of the van is lost.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to employ a pair of reclining seats mounted within the van that function as conventional automotive seats with reclining capabilities but may be angularly adjusted to lay completely flat creating a comfortable bed. This substitution may be easily made and does not effect the appearance and utility of the van itself
An important object of the invention is directed to the physical size of the reclining seats as they are proportioned properly as passenger seats so as to be comfortable in the sitting position but are also sized to be full length beds when reclined flat. This feature is particularly important in the utility of the van as it may be used in the conventional manner as a passenger vehicle but may be altered quickly and easily into a mini-van with sleeping capabilities. This object is specially meaningful to couples that travel and do not want to be subjected to the inconveniences of driving a larger mobile home with its fuel expense and parking difficulties.
Another object of the invention is in the addition of the footrest in front of the seat as passenger comfort is enhanced beyond that of a conventional passenger car seat particularly for long trips. Further the design of the seats permits the rear portion of the seat to be lower than the front and when reclined the seat and backrest follow the natural contour of a persons body by automatically raising the angle of the seat proportionally until the seat and backrest are completely horizontal. It should be noted that most vans do not have electrically operated reclining seats for passengers in the rear as this feature, when available, is usually limited to the front seats.
Still another object of the invention is space utilization within the van interior. The invention actually slides the entire bench frame, to which the seats are attached, to the rear leaving ample space to stretch out the footrest and also to permit room to accomplish other functions when the seats are upright such as eating on a portable table, changing ones clothes etc. Additionally this object permits the seats to be slid forward to the front when added space is required behind the seats for hauling items whenever it is required. Adding to its versatility, when the bench frame is slid to or beyond the second bench position the original first van bench may be positioned within the vehicle captivation slots permitting the van to carry additional passengers as the movable seats do not encroach on this space.
Yet another object of the invention is that the seats are separately adjusted to accommodate the individual preference of the passenger as to the angle of recline and the height of the footrest during a trip. When both seats are lowered flat individual beds may be made up or both may be treated as a double bed with one set of bedding as the seats are relatively close together and yet separated.
A further object of the invention is the use of conventional switching controls which are well known and in common usage in passenger vehicles. As a matter of fact the switches are attached to the electrical system of the van in the accessory circuits which were furnished by the original equipment manufacturer for just that purpose and since the motors and worm gears are the automotive type sufficient power is available in the vans electrical system.
A final object of the invention is the flexibility of the design which is easily adaptable to other configurations such as the preferred embodiment has two separate seat and backrest combinations, however, it could be easily made as a single bench seat with little modification the basic design required. The preferred embodiment presented at this time, has the side walls attached to the sides of the van however the attachment could just as well be made to the floor of the van and interface with the existing connections for the standard bench seats that have been removed to install the invention. This adaptation would permit the entire assembly to be removed in one piece by only disconnecting the power and unlatching the connection in the floor. Again little modification would be required to accomplish this feature.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.